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Mobile Analytics as an Enterprise Service

New mobile analytic practices have recently been announced by both Vodafone and IBM

IT service providers and mobile network operators are both interested in providing additional value to existing enterprise mobility services through analytics

Mobile analytics have been around for a while. They are often provided to retail customers by companies ranging from branding and marketing specialists, to enterprise software developers, to service providers that can analyze buying habits of the retailers’ consumer customers. The intent is to use the data to enhance sales and marketing campaigns. The role of analytics is growing in the B2B space as well, especially with the rise in M2M data collection, where machines are spewing out lots of information but businesses need help analyzing and using it effectively. In the last few weeks, we have seen formal service launches in different areas of mobile analytics from Vodafone Global Enterprise and from IBM.

IBM’s new Mobile Infrastructure Analytics Services are delivered via a SaaS model. Businesses gain visibility into how their mobile applications are being used by employees or customers. The service also delivers insights into infrastructure issues that could affect the performance of mobile devices and applications. IBM is also significantly involved in analytics derived from mobile B2C applications that it helps brands and retailers develop. It is also a key partner with AT&T in smart city and smart utility engagements for M2M technology in the U.S. In these cases IBM can design the data collection format, take the collected data, and help filter and analyze it to provide useful insights to customers.

Vodafone Global Enterprise (VGE) launched a mobile analytics service that uses data collected from mobile devices (including but not limited to M2M devices) to analyze/improve customer business processes, or to provide information that the company can use to develop new services and feature enhancements. For connected cars, Vodafone provides crash reporting and driving performance analysis. VGE has also launched mobile analytics in areas such as fraud prevention for financial transactions, customer insights and metrics for retailers and outdoor media campaigns; and for city, transport and facility analytics for smart city engagements.

With the rise of Big Data analysis as a transformational technology area, we expect to see more formalized mobile analytics initiatives announced from ITSPs. These companies frequently already provide some form of analytics in their mobile app development and consulting efforts. But Tier 1 operators are seeing this as an area where they can significantly contribute as well. Rather than simply collect and transmit data, they find that helping customers use the data effectively is a more interesting proposition.